The Garden Sings
by CannedAprixot
Summary: A young Aurel Popescu attempts to take on the most difficult task of his time- math homework. When his brother, Vladimir Popescu, prefers not to do it for him, Aurel decides to go to his favorite neighbor, Katyusha.


The Garden Sings

Math homework. Aurel Popescu's worst enemy. Curse the day he ever has that wretched test.

Plus, someone doesn't want to give Aurel the answer to question 3.

"Fine! If you don't want to help me-"

"-I'm not doing it for you."

Aurel snorted, his hands gripping his hips, "You never help me with my homework anymore!"

Vladimir shook his head, turning back to his desk, "I have work to do. You can do your homework on your own right now."

"Can I go to Katyusha's house then? Please?" Aurel bounced lightly, tugging his brother's arm.

"Fine, fine. As long as she's there."

Aurel and Vladimir's neighbor, Katyusha, was a conceited middle-aged woman. Despite her massive fortune, she enjoyed the visits of the young child. Her large household sat on top of a large, forest-covered hill, while Vladimir and Aurel lived at the base of that hill. She had many locked rooms with cold doorknobs. It was almost always quiet, besides the occasional stereo, tea kettle, or wind chime. Though on the days Aurel visited, Katyusha would almost always entertain him with the large television set she owned.

He loved her like a mother. Katyusha took the place of the parental figures the Popescus had, though they were constantly on "business trips" halfway across the world.

Aurel took no mind to the family's situation. His mind constantly traveled to distant worlds filled with whatever he could dream of, and that never bothered him. His brother Vladimir, though, mostly had to take responsibility for the quiet homestead. Vladimir paid bills, did laundry, washed dishes, and gardened on his own. Occasionally he brought an old friend home, and they both helped around the house. Aurel enjoyed his brother's friend and thought he was weird at times. Aurel never remembered how little filter he had on his mouth nor has he cared, he simply forgot the insults he concocted.

Aurel marched up the colorful hill, the smooth stone steps cleaned of moss yet bordered a beautiful variety of flowers. Aurel thought he could hear the petals singing to him.

If Aurel's home, the one he had known his entire life, wasn't warming enough, Katyusha's garden would be. Aurel always enjoyed the colors, so much that he couldn't hold himself back when he plucked a bouquet and presented it to Katyusha. She enjoyed it, despite knowing they came from her garden. Katyusha's garden was a true prize.

Aurel's shoes cried at every step, his feet dancing lightly as he looked to the house. Almost as if he was the dancer, his feet falling in pattern to a wonderful song sung by the flowers he passed. The trees towered above him, standing sturdy with thick trunks. Each plant with a new tone, singing parts differently yet it would all still come together fluently.

He noticed the abundance of sunflowers as he approached the house's second gate. There was one at the bottom of the hill, too. Aurel knew that one stayed locked, though. So, instead of hopping the fence (which had iron spikes towering above his small form, by the way), he remembered Katyusha's secret route going through a small opening in the fence. Just the right size for Aurel.

The second gate was always unlocked, though. It was a smaller, more decorative barrier than the first. Aurel had no trouble getting through it, even with his limited length, he still managed to get the knob turned.

The gate opened with a creak, and Aurel was sure to be careful of the rain puddles that still collected under the fence wall. His eyes followed porch steps until he saw the familiar dark, solid door. It was the most intimidating of the bunch, to be sure.

He skipped joyfully knowing he was this close to getting his homework answers and sometime around Katyusha.

He knocked. Once, twice. After a long time of eight seconds, he did a short tune of knocks. After an even shorter amount of time than eight seconds, he got frustrated. He thought of a brilliant plan to break through a window, though there were bars guarding the glass. Rats. So, instead of plan A, he decided on plan B. Try the knob and hope it works.

He turned the knob wildly, until he heard the door release from the frame, swinging out to reveal Katyusha's house.

Aurel paused briefly, before forgetting about his worries again. He whistled a nursery rhyme before stepping into the old home. The wood creaked under his light steps, only further proving its increasing age.

Despite the house laying unlocked, Katyusha wasn't in the open living room. Nor the kitchen, or her bedroom, the spare, the other spare, the third spare, and not even the spare kitchen. Aurel groaned, tired of searching empty rooms with the same brown moving boxes. For as long as Aurel knew, those boxes had always been there, filled with stuff he never recognized. He finalized that train with "it's probably some Russian junk," then let it be.

Though, as his fatigue grew, so did his curiosity. He remembered the locked bedrooms that were next to Katyusha's. He let his hands wander along the fractured, peeling wallpaper that crumbled under his touch. He slowed once he reached the doors. There was no light coming from under the crack of the frame. He considered turning around and searching the backyard, though curiosity inevitably got the best of him. He turned the knob to one of the doors, though it refused to budge. He tried the other door, but it wouldn't budge. Aurel immediately gave up, as his brain was unable to think harder than turning an already open front door.

"Aurel, dear?" The soft-spoken, gentle voice with a heavy accent rose from the quiet air of the house, yet still spooking Aurel.

Aurel turned around on his heels, his eyes meeting with a smile. Katyusha's smile.

A small stack of messy papers sat on the coffee table in front of the couch. Katyusha sighed as Aurel refused to try and work out the problems. Instead, he thought sleeping against her was a more favorable option. He dozed off against her shoulder.

His mind danced with animated faces and colorful lights. His mind only showed parts of his world that he noticed, and would leave areas blank. Despite the unclear memories, it felt vivid at the moment.

Despite his immersion, he jutted awake when Katyusha's cat tested Aurel's bare leg as a place for landing on. Though sad he had to be awakened from his dream, his blurry eyes wandered around the house once more.

He recognized one of the locked bedrooms being cracked open. He had first mistaken it for Katyusha's bedroom, though once he thought about it, Katyusha wasn't anywhere in the living room.

Aurel laid longer. His body felt heavy against the cushioned couch. His arms sagged off the couch, the large cat tasting his fingers with a raspy tongue.

Aurel pushed himself up, rubbing his eyes drowsily. He sat still, watching Katyusha's cat slip under the coffee table, careful to step over a fallen pencil. The cat hung low, letting its fur brush along the floor. The cat's careful, gentle steps made little noise on the old flooring.

The cat turned to look at Aurel briefly, before picking up its pace. It bee-lined to the previously locked door, it's tail swaying steadily after it.

Aurel dragged his legs over the edge of the couch. He pushed himself off, his bare feet hitting the cold floor, sending a shudder through Aurel's small form.

His body wobbled as he got up, as he was exhausted.

Aurel staggered after the cat, his mind still waking from his nap.

He pushed the door wider, the high-pitched creak piercing his ears.

He slid through the slim opening. He peered around the corner. The old, gray-toned room sat heavy with grief, though Aurel's light heart would never be able to detect it as such.

Yellowed photographs caught his careful glance. Frames of varying sized carrying the faces of people he didn't recognize. Though, he could tell they were the family members Katyusha talked about vividly. He didn't understand why he could never meet them. Their smiles were bright- especially Katyusha, who looked younger in these old photos.

Aurel stared at the young girl older than him, a teenager nearing adulthood, perhaps. Her hair was neat and straight, trailed behind her ears and held under a hairband with a large bow sitting on top. She looked collected, though she still had a small smile.

Another figure, a man, possibly Vladimir's age, stood beside his younger sister, his arm clenched in hers. He looked happy, a bright smile stretching across his plump face. His hair draped messily across his eyes, also stopping at the thick collar of his sweater.

Then finally, Aurel instantly knew the kind smile of Katyusha standing behind her other siblings. Her hair looked barely longer than her current haircut, which was what Aurel expected since Katyusha never changed it now. Aurel picked up the photo, careful not to drop it from the table, which was a regular occurrence back home. He squinted, noticing the tiny folds in the photo, another result from its age.

He reached to put the photo back, carrying a smile. He got a glimpse of the back, where a note with formal cursive handwriting was attached to the picture.

He thought nothing of it, deeming it unimportant and putting it back on the table with the photograph.

The cat's meow alerted Aurel, telling him to hurry up.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming," Aurel said with a hop in his step, which the flooring replied to.

The cat jumped to the open window with a strong leap, turning its head back to look to Aurel.

Aurel followed quickly, leaving the rest of the photos to sit, dust collecting on them.

Aurel peered past the cat, which jumped to a thick tree sitting past the window.

Aurel knew it was a death wish to follow the cat from there, so he looked for another way. He spotted overgrown vines, which were partially coming through cracks in the walls and the window.

Aurel tested the sturdiness of the vines and prepared himself to climb down them.

Just before Aurel was about to plunge to his death by the structurally-unprepared plantlife, he spotted a ladder.

Aurel gave a sigh of relief (or disappointment?) at the sight. He grabbed the sturdy ladder and lifted himself over the window frame. The ladder dangled from the window. He never noticed this before, though he never saw the back of the house too. Only through doors left open and the windows that he could see out of.

He quickly made his way down the ladder, happy once he got his feet planted back on solid, reliable ground.

He looked around, somehow struggling to make sense of the cacophony of flowers, trees, vines, and other plants. It managed to be even more beautiful than the hill where the property stood on.

It was all walled in by thick trees, which he assumed carried on down the backside of the hill. Somehow two trees stood proud among the mess of flowers and weeds, their leaves waving delicately in the calling wind. Aurel could tell of the coming winter from the rippled of his skin when the air touched him.

The buds of white flowers hung occasionally from the tree.

"They're winter bloomers. Unique for flower trees. I'm fairly sure they're one of the only ones that will bloom now," Katyusha walked modestly from behind another bundle of plants, her kind smile showing her age, which sharply contrasted her from the photo he saw on the way there.

Katyusha stood next to Aurel, admiring her trees from his perspective, "I see you've woken from your nap, yes?"

Aurel nodded, his words taken by the amazing view, even one of his age respected.

Katyusha didn't even bother to ask how Aurel got to the backyard, simply feeding the silence.

"Oh Natalya, you would've liked Aurel. You too, Ivan."

Aurel looked up to her, though she didn't look back. Her gaze was locked on the two trees. Aurel looked around her, attempting to spot any other people emerging from the brush.

"Who are you talking to?" Aurel stared to her curiously. Innocent clinging to every inch of his form.

Katyusha jerked back to reality, giggling to herself, "Just some people important to me. They're gone, though."

Aurel paused, trying to comprehend her words, "Where?"

"Pardon?"

"Where have they gone?"

Katyusha looked down, her eyebrows curving inwards. She didn't respond.

Aurel shivered, another cool gust of wind crawling down his jacket.

"I'm cold, Katyusha, can we go back inside?" Aurel smile, looking expectantly to Katyusha.

She returned a smile, although weaker than normal, "Of course, of course. Go back inside through the backdoor this time. It's open."

* * *

Aurel grew up like a normal child, always experiencing the regular ups and downs of life. Then he got to college. Saying goodbye to the house and community he always knew drew something out of him. He never had to adapt to his situation.

It was like a steady stream leading to a waterfall.

Something that hurt him most.

The once kind, humble smile of the woman he admired most.

The beautiful craft of her green thumb.

Katyusha's sudden, quiet death was the one thing that destroyed any home he remembered.

He rushed home to attend her funeral and the reading of her will.

His name was the only one mentioned.

Well, as well as his brother, though they shared a last name.

Aurel was given her property, and he was slowly able to uncover the secrets of her family.

Ivan and Natalya were her younger siblings. Both died in a fatal car accident.

Katyusha was driving.

They never saw the intoxicated driver through the heavy snow until they clashed headfirst.

_That was why the doors were locked._

_That was why the house was so quiet._

_That was why the trees bloomed in the winter._

_That was why Katyusha was so careful with Aurel._

It hurt to know the truth about Katyusha. Aurel had always lived knowing so little about Katyusha.

Such a cruel story sat under the beautiful mask of blooming flowers and lit leaves.

Such a beautiful song of greenery he knew all his life. All orchestrated by a maiden gifted with dread.

But he was a grown man now. Instead of asking for answers to his math homework, now he was learning complicated formulas on a daily basis. Nothing anyone but himself were qualified to answer in his family. If only Katyusha could see him now.

If only Katyusha could see him now.

At least her song could be preserved for however long Aurel lived, carrying her family's legacy on his own. May her kindness carry on in the branches of the third winter-blooming tree, joining to play the orchestra's music.

The song of his mentor's garden could be preserved forever. It's colorful melody passing on to him, never pausing with its splendid sounds.

The garden's song carries on.

The Garden Sings.


End file.
